Excavating machine



Filed Feb. 11, 1932 GCCCCICG:

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 21, 1933 PATENT OFFICE l ROBERT REXDOWNIE, 0F BEAVER FALLSyPENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATING MACHINE Applicationfiled February 11, 1932. Serial No. 592,407.

This invention rela-tes to excavating machines, and among other objectsaims to provide an improved scoop of the latched t. bottom type whereinthe hauling line, which C? moves the scoop during the excavating stroke,

is utilized to release the latch, permitting the bottom to swing openand dump the contents of the scoop. l f

Referring to the drawing, wherein there 9 is shown so muchof anexcavating scoop as is necessary for an understanding of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a skimmer scoop equippedwith the novellatch releasing mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view showing the connection between thehauling line and 2Q the latch releasing mechanism.

In the Downie Patent No. 1,511,114 there is shown a ditching ortrenching machine digofing inwardly in amore or less arcuate pat andoperated during the excavating 27? cycle by two power lines, the dumpingbeing accomplished by pulling on a special tag line attached to thelatch. In the Downie Patent'1,536,390 there is shown a skimmerscoopwhose bottom is dumped by ".39 pullingon a tag line. These patents arefairly representative of the prior commercial art and clearly indicatethat it has always been necessary heretofore for the operator of 5 themachine to operate the dumping line, or else to employ an extra manwhose sole work is to control the dumping of the scoop. Bothalternatives have serious drawbacks: the first, because of the laborimposed upon the o operator, and also because frequently he will losecontrol of the position of the scoop while reaching for andpulling theftag line; and second, because of the labor cost and the fact that thetwo men may not (zo-ordinate their 43 efforts properly and mayfrequently spill the load, i. e., dump it at the wrong spot.V Poweroperated latch mechanisms have 'also been used to some extent,'but theseare necessarily quite expensive and are difficult to protect A50adequately because of their location on the mechanical equivalents, areentirely elimii nated, and the latchis released by power obtained fromthe hauling line, which lis connected directly to the scoop andindirectly to the latch. y

This application is a substitute for the application Ser. No. 292,656,filed July 14, 1928, allowed August 13, 1930, renewed July" 27, 1931 andagain allowed August 7, 1931. The present case is distinguishable fromtwo other pending applications, Serial Nos. v292,655 and 292,657 filedJuly 111, 1928, in that it is limited to the operation of the latch bymech# anism which may be actuated by -a single reciprocation of thehauling line (that is, by

al sharp release and sharp retraction of the relative to the latchand'totrip the latch by its momentum.

Referring particularly to the drawing,

there is shown a portion of a skimmer scoop including a side wall 10, arear wall 11, and a bottom12which'is pivoted at the end of the scoop,not shown in the drawing. Patent No. 1,536,390 is a disclosure of askimmer scoop. To maintain the bottom 12 in closed position, a latchpiece 13 is secured to the bottom and engages with a pivoted latch `14which is normally held -in closed position by one or more springs 15.As'shown, the springs 15 are mounted on pins 16 having adjusting nuts 17at their outer ends; and the springs en'- gage wings 18 secured to thelatch 14 oneither side so as to hold the latch normally inthe positionshown while permitting the release of the latch to allow the bottom todrop by gravity to dump the contents of the scoop.

As shown, the hauling line 19 is dead-ended to the fscoop, although aslight relative motion is permitted between the hauling line andv thescoop. The end of the hauling line is lever forming the operating memberof a latch releasing mechanism to be described. The bell crank lever ispivoted to a bracket 22 rigidly secured to the upper portion of the rearwall 11 of the scoop, preferably midway between the side walls 10. Itwill be obvious that when the hauling line is released and retracted,the arm 21 will swing on its pivot, thus permitting slight relativemovement between the hauling line and the scoop. To allow for thismovement, without chafing ofthe hauling line, a roller 23 is mounted onthe bail 24 of the scoop and the hauling line 19 passes over the roller23, as shown.

The other arm 25 of the bell crank lever extends over the top of thewall 11 of the scoop and when the hauling line 19 is pulled taut, asVshown in Fig. 1, arm 25 just engages a stop 26 secured by brackets orangle pieces 27, 28 to the top of the scoop. The stop 26 and angle piece28 together provide means limiting angular movement of arm 25 to a verysmall arc, preferably less than 15. To hold the bell crank lever inproper position, and to facilitate the latch-releasing action to bedescribed, a pair of coil springs 29 are connected to the bell cranklever on opposite sides and are also secured to the bracket 28, theeifectrofsaid springs being to tend to rotate the bell crank leverclockwise-a tendency which is subordinate to the normal tension of thehauling line. However, when the hauling line is released, the springs 29will rotate the bell crank lever clockwise through the small ang-1epermitted by the described construction. Y

A latchreleasing mechanism is interposed between the extremity of thearm 25 and the latch 14, so as to be moved by arm 25 and transmittripping force to the latch. Preferably the latch 14 is a bell cranklever pivoted to the rear wall of the scoop on the outside thereof andhas an arm 30 projecting substantially at right angles to the rear wall.The latch releasing mechanism includes a pair of longitudinally alinedrods 31, 32 which are secured on opposite sides of a weight 33, Vthe tworods and the weight constituting an assembly whose momentum 1s utilizedto trip the latch. Preferably the rod 32 provides a carrier for a pairof coil springs 34, .35, which bear on opposite sides of a slidable'sleeve 36 whichA is pivotally connected to the end of the arm 25, asshown. The rod 31 passes down through a hole in the end of the latcharm30 and has ahead 37 on tent in both directions relative to latch arm 30,its connection with said arm may be termed a lost-motion connection. Itwill clear that the weighted assembly actslike a hammer when trippingthe latch; also that rod 31 alone could be made heavy enough to trip thelatch by its momentum, without employing a special weight mounted on it.Hence, I desire that theterm weight in the claims be broadly construed.

To permit adjustment between the rod 31 and the arm 30, said `rod isconnected by screw-threads 38 to the weight, which preferably has ascrew-threaded bore. A nut 39 may be used to lock the rod-31 in itsadjusted position relative to the weight 33. Thus the distance of thehead 37 below the weight 33 may be adjusted to insure proper action ofthe mechanism.

The operation of the mechanism will now be easily understood. Thehauling line 19 is sharply released (by mechanism unnecessary todescribe because not forming a part of the present invention) whereuponthe springs 29 will cause the arm 25 to move downwardly or clockwise,thus carrying with it the weighted assembly, because of compression ofspring 34. The line 19 is then sharply retracted, this retraction.following rapidly after the initial release, and this will move theweighted assembly upwardly and cause the head 37 to deliver a blowagainst the latch arm, thus tripping the latch. The action of the partsis greatly facilitated by the springs 34, 35, the spring 34 beinginitially compressed by the clockwise movement of the' arm 25'and henceexpanding t0 vadd its energy to that of the moving weight, upon theupward stroke of the reciprocating weighted assembly, and spring 35checking arm 25 by its compression as said arm reaches its upper limitof travel.

While a single release of the `hauling line followed rapidly by a sharpretraction thereof should be suiiicient to trip the latch, Vif the latchis not tripped the first time, several successive vibratory impulsesimparted to theV line may be used to build up the ymomentum of theweighted assembly, thus makingcertain the quick tripping of the latch.

No attempt has been made in this application to illustrate more than onekind of excavating scoop equipped with mechanism embodying theinvention. It will be clear that the invention is particularly useful inthe operation of ditchers and skimmers, examples of which are shown inthe patents referred to.

1 believe that I am the first inventor of a practicable means andvmethod for controlling the latch of adrop bottom excavating scoop, orthe latch of a pivoted scoop, as shown in the Clutter Patent No. 1,317,431, by a single line whose normal function of hauling the scoopthrough the earth is not interfered with and without necessitatingmaterial change in the position of the scoop. Therefore, 1 seek in thisand in the aforesaid'applications, the broadest possible protection onmy inventive concepts.

A Obviously, the present invention is not restricted to the particularembodiment thereof herein shown and described. l/Vhat I claim is l. Amachine of the class described comprising, in combination, a scoophaving an automatically latched bottom; a hauling line Y attached to thescoop; and mechanism mounted on the scoop and connectedto the haulingline and latch for releasing the latch, said mechanism having Vareciprocatory Weight whose momentum is used to release the latch, andbeing so constructed and arranged that a sharp release of the haulingline followed by a sharp retraction will operate it.V` Y

2. A machine of the class described comprising, in combination, a scoophaving an automatically latched bottom; a hauling line attached to thescoop; and latch-releasing mechanism on the scoop directly connected tothe haulingline and latch and having a movable weight whose momentum isused to release the latch; the connection between the latch-releasingmechanism and the hauling line being interposed rbetween the haulingline and the scoop so that power from the hauling line is utilized inreleasing the latch.

8. A machine of the cla-ss described comprising, in combination, a scoophaving a bottom pivoted at the forward end; a latch for the bottom,which automatically engages; va hauling line connected to the scoop; anda latch releasing mechanism mounted on the back of the scoop andconnected to both the hauling line and the` latch; said latch releasingmechanism including a weight and operating by the momentum of the weightto trip the latch.

4. A machine of the class described comprising, in combination, a scoophaving a bottom pivoted at the forward end; a bell crank lever pivotedon the rear wall of the scoop and having one end shaped so as to latchthe bottom and having an arm projecting outwardly substantially at rightangles to the rear wall Va lspring to cause said latch end toautomatically engage; a hauling line for pulling the scoop through thematerial to be excavated; another bell crank lever pivoted at the top ofthe rear wall and having one arm connected to the hauling line. said armtransmitting the pull of the hauling line to the scoop; and areciprocatory member movably connected to the projecting arm of thelatch and resiliently connected to the other arm of the bell crank leverat the top of the scoop.

5. A machine of the'class described comprising, in combination, a scoophaving a bottom pivoted at the forward end; an automatic latch for thebottom; a hauling `Vline connected to the scoop; and a latch-releasingmechanism mounted on the back of the scoop and connected to both thehauling' line and the latch; said latch-releasing mechanism including arod; a resilient connection vbetween said rod and the hauling line; anda weight secured to the rod; the rodhaving a lostmotion connection withthe latch and tripping the latch by means of the momentum of the rodand'weight when reciprocated by a jerk on the hauling line.

6. A machine of the class'described comprising, in combination, a scoophaving a bottom pivoted at the forward end; an automatic latch for thebottom; a hauling line connected to the scoop; and a latch-releasingprising', in combination, a scoop having a bottom pivoted at the forwardend; an automatic latch for the bottom; a hauling line connected to thescoop; and a latch-releasing mechanism mounted on the back of the scoopand connected to both the hauling line and the latch; saidlatch-releasing mechanism including Aa vertically reciprocatory weight;mechanism connecting said weight with the hauling'line; a pair ofspringsA on` the `weight affording a resilient connection with thehauling line and augmenting the momentum of the weight whenreciprocated;

the weight being so connected with the latch that when it is movedupwardlyy forcibly the latch will be tripped, but when it ismoveddownwardly the latch will not be affected.

8. A machine of the class described comprising, in combination, a scoophaving a bottom pivoted at the forward end; a bell Vcrank lever pivotedon the rear wall of theV scoop and having one end shaped so as to latchtherbottom and having' an arm project- Y ing outwardly substantially atright angles to the rear wall; a spring for causing said latch end toautomatically engage; a hauling line for pulling the scoop through themais@ Y terial to be eicavated; another bell crank lever pivoted at thetop of the rearwall and* having one arm connected to the hauling line,said arm transmitting the pull of the hauling. line Vto the scoop; areciprocatory weighted member; Vaf connection between ysaid WeightedVmember and the other arm of the bell crank lever which is at the top ofthe scoop; a pair'of springs carried by the reciprocatory weightedmember onoppositeV sides of said connection; and a head on thek lowerend of the weightedfmember for strik-` ing ltheprojecting arm ofthelatch to trip the latch during reciprocation of the weighted member.

9. A machine of the class described comprising, in combination, a scoop;an automatically engaging discharge latch for the scoop; a weightmovably mounted on the scoop and of sufficient mass to be capable oftripping the latch; means connected to the weight and contacting withythe latch. when the weight moves in a certain direction; a hauling linefor moving the scoop; and means connecting the hauling line with theweight-so that reciprocation of the line will cause the weight to tripthe latch.

10. In combination with an excavating scoop having a bottom pivoted atthe torward end; a hauling line; an automatic latch for holding thebottom closed; a latch-releasing arm projecting from the latch; a heavyrod longitudinally movable through said arm substantially at rightangles thereto; said rod having a head on its lower end, said headnormallyy being spaced below the arm; a lever pivoted to the scoop at anintermediate point and having one end connected to the end of thehauling line so that hauling stresses are transmitted to the scoopYthrough said lever and its pivotal connection to the scoop,Y said leverhaving its other end movably connected with c said rod; and springs onopposite sides of said lever and rod connection adapted to beyalternately compressed as the lever is rocked by jerking and releasingthe hauling line, thereby auginenting the kinetic energy of thelongitudinally movable rod; the head on said rod delivering a blow onsaid arm sufficient to lift it to trip the latch.

ll. In combination, an excavating scoop having a bottom pivoted at theforward e-nd; a hauling line; an automaticlatch for holding the bottomclosed; a latch-releasing arm projecting from the latch; a heavy rodlongitudinally movable through said arm substantially at right anglesthereto; said rod i having a head on its lower end, said headA vnormallybeing spaced below the arm; a ,lever pivoted to the scoop at anintermediate oint and having one end connected to the end of the haulingline so that hauling stresses are transmitted to the scoop through saidlever and its pivotal connection to the scoop; a

' sleeve on the other end of said lever slidable on said rod; coilsprings on said rod bearing against the opposite sides of said sleeveand adapted to be alternately compressed as the lever is rocked byjerking and releasing the hauling line, thereby augmenting the kineticVprojecting froml the latch; a heavy rod longitudinally movable throughsaid arm substantially at right angles thereto; said 'rod having a headon its lower end, said head normally being spaced below the arm; aweight secured on said rod intermediate its ends; means for adjustingthe length of the rod to vary the distance between said head and saidarm; a lever pivoted to the scoop at an intermediate point and havingone end connected to the end oi the hauling line so that haulingstresses are transmitted to the scoop through said lever and itspivotalconnection to the scoop, said lever having its other end -connected withsaid rod; the head on said rod delivering a blow on said arm sutcient tolitt it to trip the latch. j

18. In combination, an excavating scoop having a bottom pivoted at'theforward end, two side walls and a rear wall; a hauling line; anautomatic latch for holding the bottom closed7 pivotally mounted on therear wall of the scoop and having an arm projecting outwardly from therear wall; a headed rodv fitting loosely in an aperture in said arm andadapted to engage said arm with its head and extending above the top ofthe rear wall; a lever pivoted at an intermediate point near the upperedge of said rear wall and overhanging the scoop at one end; means forpivotally and slidably connecting the other end of said lever to saidrod; a spring on the rod below said ymeans and so arranged as toA becompressed by downward movement of said connecting means on said rod;means for connecting the overhanging end of the lever with said haulingline; and stops for limiting swinging of said lever in either direction.

14:. In combination, an excavating scoop having a bottom pivoted at theforward end, two side walls and a rear wall; a hauling line; anautomatic latch for holding the bottom closed, pivotally mounted on therear wall of the scoop and having an arm projecting outwardly Jfrom therear wall; a headed rod fitting loosely in an aperture in said arm andadapted to engage said larm with its head and extending above the top ofthe re-ar wall; a lever pivoted at an intermediate point near the upperedge of said rear wall and overhanging the scoop at one end; means forlpivotally and slidably connecting the other end of said lever to saidrod; a spring onr the -rod below said means and so arranged asto becompressed by downwardvmcvement of said connecting means on said rod;means for connecting the overhanging end of the lever with said haulingline; a spring secured to the lever and to the scoop and exerting aconstant pull on the hauling line and' the hauling line connectingmeans; and stops for limiting swinging of said lever in eitherdirection. 1 1 f K 15. In combination, anexcavating scoop having abottom pivoted'at the forward end,

two side walls and a rear wall; a hauling line; an automatic latch forholding the bottom closed, pivotally mounted on the rear wall of thescoop and having an arm projecting outwardly from the rear wall; aheaded rod fitting loosely in an aperture in said arm and adapted toengage said arm with its head and extending above the top of the rearwall;

a weight secured on said rod intermediate its ends; means for adjustingthe length of the rod to vary the distance between said head and saidarm; a lever pivoted at an intermediate point near the upper edge ofsaid rear wall and overhanging the scoop at one end; means or'pivotallyand slidably connecting the other end of said lever to said rod; aspring on the Vrod below said connecting means and so arranged as to becompressed by downward movement of said connecting means on said rod;another spring on the rod above said connecting means and so arranged asto be compressed by upward movement of said connecting means; means forconnecting the overhanging end of the lever with said hauling line; aspring secured to the lever and to the scoop and exerting a constantpull on the hauling line and the hauling line connecting means; andstops for limiting swinging of said lever in either direction.

16. In combination, an excavatingscoop having a pivoted bottom, two sidewalls and a rear wall; a hauling line for moving the scoop through theearth during excavation; an automatic latch for holding the bottomclosed, said latch being pivotally mounted on the rear wall of the scoopand having an arm projecting rearwardly from said rear wall; a rodslidable through an aperture in the extremity of said arm and having ahead adapted to engage said arm on the under side when the rod is movedupwardly, said rod being upright and substantially parallel with saidrear wall; a weight secured on said rod; means for adjusting theposition of said head on the rod; a bell crank lever pivoted at the topof said scoop; a sleeve slidable on said rod and restrained by coilsprings carried on said rod on each side of said sleeve; one arm of saidbell crank lever being pivotally connected with said sleeve; a cableclamp secured at one end to the end of said hauling line and pivotallyconnected, at its other end, to the other arm of said bell crank lever;and a spring connected to the scoop and the bell crank lever to exert aconstant tension on the hauling line.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aixedmy signature.

ROBERT REX DOWNIE.

